The present invention is directed generally to an apparatus and method for dispensing beverages. More particularly, the invention is directed to an improved beverage dispensing system and its method of operation in which a base liquid is mixed with a flavoring constituent contained in a collapsible and rupturable packet. The invention finds particular and advantageous use in dispensing carbonated beverages in which the base liquid is carbonated water and the flavoring constituent is a sweetened or unsweetened syrup, a juice concentrate or other flavoring.
In recent years, there has been an ever increasing proliferation of soft drink varieties introduced to the market. Carbonated oft drinks in many different flavors are now commonly available, as well as a variety of flavored seltzers, sparkling waters and lightly carbonated juice drinks. This great increase in the varieties of soft drinks poses a serious problem to those who desire to inventory a variety of flavors for later consumption. The problem is, of course, exacerbated where a number of consumers with widely varying tastes are placed in a common location, such as an office, factory or other workplace. Soft drinks typically consumed in the workplace are carried to it as cans or bottles, or are purchased off-site by employees and carried into the workplace for immediate or later consumption. This system of delivery of beverages to the workplace is often inefficient, and can be expensive due to the high cost of canned or bottled beverages and the relatively large space normally required to inventory and refrigerate these beverages.
As a result of these problems, there has been interest in recent years in the development of beverage dispensing systems in which a packet containing an individual serving of a flavoring constituent is used with an on-site dispenser. The packets are small and lightweight and can be inventoried in a large number of flavors without requiring a significant amount of space. Such a beverage dispensing system can potentially satisfy the individual tastes of a relatively large number of consumers without the disadvantages and constraints imposed by conventional dispensing systems.
There have been two such beverage dispensing systems which employ rupturable or collapsible packets disclosed in the prior art. One is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,510 issued to Strenger and the other is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,259 issued to Lagneaux. Each of these prior art systems is intended to address the above noted problems in beverage distribution. However, neither has proven satisfactory in the marketplace. It is believed that the primary reason for these prior art systems' lack of success is their inability to consistently dispense a uniformly mixed, high quality soft drink. Specifically, it is essential that any dispensing system have the capability of repeatedly dispensing a beverage with acceptable temperature, carbonation and Brix. Thus, there remains a need for an on-site, individual serving packet beverage dispensing system having the capability to consistently dispense drinks of uniform high quality.